TFG merges virtual and physical stores

Jun 6, 2017

In an effort to further democratise the online shopping landscape in South Africa, TFG (The Foschini Group) has introduced Collect In Store, a delivery method which gives their online shoppers the option to pick up their parcel at their most convenient TFG store within an 8-day collection period.
TFG have conducted research into customer’s online shopping habits and have found that many South Africans are not permitted to receive personal deliveries at their place of work and do not have someone at home during working hours to receive a parcel.
To overcome this barrier to online shopping, TFG is testing Collect In Store in the Western Cape, enabling customers to choose to collect their tfg.co.za purchases at their nearest @home, Foschini, Markham, Sportscene or Totalsports store.
Following the test period, TFG plans to expand the Collect In Store service nationally.
Besides nullifying the need for a physical delivery address when shopping online at www.tfg.co.za, Collect In Store has many other perks, including the option to exchange an item immediately should the customer not be satisfied, giving the shopper access to a broader range of goods online than in stores, and giving them the flexibility of collecting their order at a convenient TFG store, within an 8-day collection period, should they not be able to receive deliveries at home or at the office.
Globally, in countries with an online shopping culture, online sales trade at approximately 5% of total retail sales, whereas in South Africa this figure is approximately 1%. TFG have been investigating how to increase online shopping sales by analysing the unique needs and challenges faced by South African shoppers.
“The democratisation of online shopping is paramount and by not limiting South Africans to one type of delivery method, we are giving people that can’t currently shop online access to do so,” says Robyn Cooke, head of TFG e-ommerce.
“People who are at work all day, don’t have someone at home to receive a parcel, and can’t have their shopping delivered to their work can now also access full ranges of products online and in the evenings when they are relaxed at home, or on the go during the daily commute. They can then collect their product from their nearest Markham or Totalsports, for example, during their lunch hour or on their way home.”
Collect In Store is being tested in selected @home, Foschini, Markham, Sportscene and Totalsports stores in the Western Cape, before TFG expands the offering nationally.
The full list of online stores available to shoppers includes: @home, @home furniture, Anatomy, Duesouth, Duesouth Escapes, Fabiani, Foschini For Beauty, hi, Markham, Relay Jeans, Sportscene, and Totalsports. So you can shop at Sportscene online and have your pair of sneakers delivered to a Markham store near your office.
The Collect In Store service is free for purchases over R500, or else the service is charged at R50.